Product Reviews

My favorite small speaker

Like any gear guy, I have my favorite products. And like any good gear guy, those favorites change from time to time.

Last week, our church launched its community garden space, and we needed a better sound system for the event. Since our existing small portable system wasn't quite what we needed, we had borrowed a different system for our Easter Sonrise service (outdoors), but I'm a firm believer that churches should own or rent all of the gear that they need, and that borrowing is not a good option.

So what constitutes a "better" sound system? Frankly, I was tired of lugging an 80 pound amp rack, with a CD player/iPod dock, small mixer, a wireless microphone, a drawer full of cables, and a power conditioner -- along with speakers, stands, and cables. The system had served us well for 5-6 years of our outdoor basketball league, for youth events, camps, and more, but I wanted something more portable and something easy enough for anyone to set up and use. Even as simple as it was, it could have been better.

The requirements for the speakers: small, lightweight, built-in amplifier, great sounding, microphone input, line input (1/4" and XLR), pole mount socket, ideally could be used as a small monitor (with the horn in its proper rotation, of course), and they had to cost less than $500 each.

One of the best features of the ZXA1 (like many powered speakers) is that it has a microphone level input so you can take a dynamic mic, the ZXA1, a speaker stand and cables and have a complete small sound system. The line input will take the output from a music source, too - a two-channel mini mixer. The ZXA1 weighs in at just under 20 pounds, and is about 11x18" on its face, and it sounds great.

It's just as at home as a small monitor as it is a small main speaker. Now, we're talking small when I say small. You're not going to play rock and roll to 500 people outdoors and you won't rattle any windows, unless you get the ZXA1-Sub - and even then rattling windows outdoors isn't terribly likely. The ZXA1 and ZXA1-Sub combo (a pair of each) is a fantastic small system for youth rooms and choir rooms, too.

Best New Headphones for 2013

Earlier this year, Forbes Magazine published its picks for the best new headphones for 2013. Not surprisingly, one of our favorites made the list. In the category, "Best for Living Out Your Arena Rock Fantasies", the Westone 4R in-ear phones won out. At $499, they are absolutely fantastic sounding, and will give you top-shelf performance for listening or personal monitoring applications. If a detachable cable isn't important to you, get one of the limited-quantity Westone 4's that we have left at $399 - a relative bargain.

If you'd like to read all of what the Forbes reviewer had to write, click here.

5 Reasons to Choose a Countryman DI

Okay: we're a little obsessed with direct boxes. We enjoy inspecting aluminum extrusions for nicks, browsing switch datasheets during lunch, and devising new ruggedness tests for the legendary Type 85, and new Type 10, Type 10S Stereo, and Type 85S Stereo boxes. In our defense, the DI is one of the first elements in your system, and the way it performs can make or break your sound. A lot goes in to a great DI. Find out why Countryman DIs are an essential part of road kits worldwide:

1. Tough

Every Countryman Direct Box is built unreasonably tough, because we know life on the road and in the studio is rarely reasonable. When it comes to outrageous ruggedness, Countryman DIs crush the competition:

Mixed Live and Multitracked on a Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 w/ iPad

We can use words to let you know about how a product works. Today, we have the benefit of video with audio, so that you can experience it.

I'd like to introduce you to a friend and client Jared Mahone. We mixed his CD Release Party just a few weeks ago. What you'll hear is 16 tracks of audio recorded to a stock Macbook Pro. Mixed live on the Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 via iPad. Look for the bald guy at front-of-house. I think that you might recognize him. (The other console was used only by the opening band.)

Presonus StudioLive is a complete recording and mixing (and ear monitoring and music publishing and personal mixing and room tuning) solution. Priced from $1299.

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By the way, the M-400 is stinkin' awesome! I always knew it could do this stuff, but I've never seen it in action. I set the loaner board up, stuck in my thumb drive, loaded my settings, and bam, there they were!